Ribbon-inking machine

ABSTRACT

A ribbon-inking machine is disclosed for use in re-inking ribbons employed in various types of computers, accounting machines, printing machines and the like. The machine includes two winding rollers, each of which is also capable of serving as a supply roller, at least one inking roller, and control means for controlling the operation of the winding rollers. In use a roll of ribbon is located on one of the winding rollers and attached to the other of the winding rollers so as to extend past the inking roller or rollers used. As the machine operates the ribbon is wound from one of the winding rollers to the other and then back again, a number of times dependent upon the setting of the control means.

United States Patent 573,229 12/1896 Metz inventors Frank R. Anderson Montebello; Albert J. Castro. Cudahy, both of, Calif. Appl. No. 869,672 Filed Oct. 27, 1969 Patented Sept. 7, 1971 Assignee Westates Space Era Products, Inc.

Los Angeles, Calif.

RIBION-INKING MACHINE 6 Claims. 11 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl. 1l8 /6, 118/224, 118/235, 118/246, 118/266 Int. Cl ..B05c ll/l2, 1305c 1/10 Field of Search 197/171; 101/332, 336; 118/6, 246, 223, 224, 235, 266, 260

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Primary Examiner.lohn P. Mclntosh Attorney-Edward D. OBrian ABSTRACT: A ribbon-inking machine is disclosed for use in re-inking ribbons employed in various types of computers, accounting machines, printing machines and the like. The machine includes two winding rollers, each of which is also capable of serving as a supply roller, at least one inking roller, and control means for controlling the operation of the winding rollers. In use a roll of ribbon is located on one of the winding rollers and attached to the other of the winding rollers so as to extend past the inking roller or rollers used. As the machine operates the ribbon is wound from one of the winding rollers to the other and then back again, a number of times dependent upon the setting of the control means.

PATENTEDSEP nan 03,2 3

' sum 1 or 3 3 FZ IG.1". /07 it 5@ M! VEN TORS m ALBERT J. CAsrRo 3 BY i EDWARD D OER/AN ATTORNEY FRANK A. ANDERSON,

PATENTEDSEP Han 3.603.283

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FIG. 6.

y //2 I MIME/V7025 3 FkA/vK R. A NDERSON, ALBERT J 61457720 EDWARD Q OER/AM A TTOEA/EY PATENTEDSEP mm 3.603283 SHEET 3 BF 3 nwslvraks F34 NK A. ANDERSON, ALBERT J. CASTRO B EDWARD D. OBQ/AA/ A 7'7'0RNEY RIBBON-INKING MACHINE CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATION This application incorporates by reference the entire disclosure of the copending Frank R. Anderson and Albert J. Castro application serial number 672,687 entitled Ink Applying Devices filed Oct. 2, 1967, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION ribbons are frequently constructed using a fabric of synthetic material such as nylon. As any such ribbonis used in time the, ink supply within it will become exhausted.

It has been conventional to discard inked ribbons from which the ink has been exhausted. Since in many cases the basic fabric of a ribbon is still sound when the ink from such a ribbon is exhausted this is considered to constitute an unnecessary waste. This policyhas been followed because in the past there has been a dearth of any satisfactory procedure for re-inking a used ribbon of the type indicated so thatthe ribbon after such re-inking possessed adequate physical characteristics for satisfactory use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION method of the type described which is relatively simple tocarry out, which may be easily and conveniently practiced and which is effective. Still further objectives of the invention are to provide ribbon inking machines which can be constructed at a comparatively nominal cost, which perform satisfactorily in reinking ribbons, which are capable of giving prolonged,

reliable performance and which may be easily and conveniently used.

In accordance with this invention these and various related objectives of the invention are achieved by winding a ribbon being inked back and forth between two different winding rollers operated so that first one of these winding rollers serves as a winding roller while the other serves as a supply roller and then vice versa. As a ribbon is wound back andforth in this manner it passes in contact with at least one and preferably a plurality of inking rollers, each of which is capable of supplying ink to the ribbon being re-inked.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING Further details of the present invention as well as the manner in which the invention achieves its objectives will be apparent from a carefulconsideration of the remainder of this specification and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. I is a side-elevational view, partially in section, of a presently preferred embodimentof a ribbon inking machine of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view taken at line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken atline 3--3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 isa cross-sectional view takenat line 44 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view taken at line 5-5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view taken at line 6-6 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view taken at line 7-7 of FIG. I;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged elevational view of part of a collar and shaft employed as a part of a winding roller in the machine il lustrated in the preceding figures;

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic view illustrating one manner of use of the machine illustrated in the preceding figures;

FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic view illustrating another manner of use of a machine illustrated in the preceding figures; 3

FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic view illustratinganother manner of use of a machine illustrated in the preceding figures.

The purpose of the accompanying drawings is to clearlyillustrate for explanatory purposes the nature of the presently preferred embodiment or form of a machine of this invention. Various changes may be made in the particular machine illustrated through the use of routine engineering skill without departing from the essential character of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the drawing there is shown a ribbon inking machine 10 of this invention which includes a generally flat baseplate l2 supporting upstanding parallel walls 14 and 16. These walls 14 and 16 have opposed surfaces facing one another. The surface of the wall 16 remote fromthe wall 14 is preferably enclosed by a conventional housing 18. The wall 16 is provided with vertically extending bearing slots 20. On each side of each of the slots 20 a plurality of support posts 22 extend into the interior of the housing 18. These posts 22 carry sliding bearings 24 which face one another so as to support a mounting plate 26 adjacent to each of the slots 20.

These mounting plates 26 carry reversible motors 28 having shafts 30 extending therefrom generally towards the wall 16. The shafts 30 are connected to couplings 32 to bushings 34 by means of conventional set screws 36. Each of the bushings 34 extends through one of the slots 20 and carries a collar 38 limiting its motion with respect to the wall 16 by engaging this wall 16. Each of the bushings 34 also include a nonround stud 40 extending therefrom generally towards the wall 14.

In the wall 14 directly opposite each of the slots 20 there is located a slot 42. Conventional fasteners 44 mount sliding bearings 46 along each of the sides of each of the slots 42. It will be noted that these bearings 46 extend vertically. The bearings 46 carry mounting plates 48 corresponding to the mounting plates 26. These mounting plates 48 carry bearings 50 which rotatably. and slidably support plungers 54-. Each of the plungers 54 includes a handle 56 designed to facilitate its being moved linearly, a flange 58 designed to limit movement by abutting against the wall 14, a terminal flange 60 and a terminal nonround stud 62. The studs 40 and 62 preferably are of the same dimension. The flange 60 is intended to provide a bearing surface for an end of a coil spring 64 held under compression on each of the plungers 54 against a bearing 50.

This structure is designed so that nonround shafts 66 may be mounted so as to extend generally between the walls 14 and 16 by pulling the handles 56 so as to increase from normal the spacing between the studs 40 and 62. When a shaft 66 is positioned as shown, it will rotate in accordance with the operation of a motor 28.

Each of the shafts 66 preferably carries two shaft collars 68. These shaft collars are provided with stepped shoulders 70 which face the stepped shoulders 70 on the other shaft collar 68 on the sameshaft 66. Each of the shoulders 70 on each collar 68 preferably includes a pin 72 which is adapted to physi cally engage an end of a cylindrical ribbon core located on such a shoulder during the use of the machine 10 so as to cause such a core to rotate with a shaft 66. A core as indicated herein is subsequently described. The collars 68 -are adapted to be secured in various desired standard" positions on the shafts 66 by means of other pins 74 fitting through these collars and through holes 76 in the shafts 66. The pins 74 may be threaded into the collar 68 as indicated in FIG. 9 of the drawing so as to prevent undesired movement.

The walls 14 and I6 carry positioning slots 78 on their op posed surfaces. These slots 78 have vertically extending sections 80. Adjacent to the bottoms of these sections 80 there are located downwardly extending terminal extensions 82. The upper ends of the sections 80 are connected to horizontally extending sections 84 each of which terminates in another downwardly extending extension 86. The structure of the slots 78 is designed so that shafts 88 extending from upper inking rollers 90 may be supported in any of the extensions 82 or 86 so that these rollers 90 will rotate thus in effect the extensions 82 and 86 act as bearings. The shafts 88 may be conveniently moved between the extensions 86 and 82 by being slid along the remainder of these extensions. The walls 14 and 16 also preferably carry aligned openings 92 serving as bearings for shafts 94 on other, lower inking rollers 96.

These rollers 90 and 96 are preferably of identical dimension. The rollers 96 are of such a nature as to be capable of applying ink to a ribbon 98 being reinked in accordance with the invention. Highly suitable rollers for this purpose are disclosed and claimed in the copending Anderson et al. application Ser. No. 672,687 entitled Ink Applying Device filed Oct. 2, 1967. In the interest of brevity the construction of such rollers is not described in detail herein and the entire disclosure of the copending application is incorporated herein by reference.

The ribbon 98 shown in FIG. 4 is supported upon a core 100 which is in turn mounted upon shoulders 70 on collars 68 on one of the shafts 66. In the manner of theuse of the invention indicated in FIG. 4 of the drawing the ribbon 98 extends from a winding I02 around this core 100 over one of the rollers 90 to the other roller 90. It passes around and under this other roller 90 and thence over the other roller 96 to another core 100. In the condition of the machine illustrated in FIG. 4 the ribbon 98 has just been placed in the machine 10 on a core 100.

At this time a setting switch 104 on a conventional stepping switch control structure 106 is set to an amount corresponding to the desired amount to which the ribbon 98 is to be inked. Then a conventional on-off switch 108 forming a part of the control I06 is turned on. This will supply current to the motor 28 which is connected so as to rotate the core 100 which does not contain the winding 102 as shown at the right in FIG. 4. The operation of this motor 28 will cause this ribbon 98 to be wound upon this particular core 100. As the ribbon is wound in this manner it will travel between the rollers 90 and 96 so that ink will be applied to it by contact with these rollers.

As this occurs a braking action increasing the tension on the ribbon is achieved through the use of pony brakes 110 as shown in FIG. 7 of the drawing. Each of these brakes 110 includes a lever arm 112 pivotally mounted on a plate 26. The lever arms 1 12 are connected to braking straps 114 which extend around braking discs 116 secured to the couplings 32 by set screws 118. The ends of the straps 114 remote from the levers 112 are secured to the plates 26 by means of support pins 120. The levers 112 are biased into normal nonbraking positions by means of coil springs 122 connecting them to the plates 26.

These levers 112 are also pivotally connected to the actuators 124 from solenoids I26 mounted on the plates 26. These solenoids 126 are connected through the control 106 so that the solenoid remote from a particular motor 28 being operated is actuated so as to operate the brake 110. In other words when one motor 28 is operating the parts rotated by operation of the other motor 28 are braked through operation of a solenoid 126 and the brake 110 attached to'it'so as to in-' crease the tension on the ribbon 98. 7

After the ribbon 98 has been wound completely upon a core I00 in the manner described the tension on the ribbon will pull up upon the core I00 from which the ribbon 98 has been removed. This will tend to move the entire assemblyof parts associated upon the now empty core 100 upwardly so that a the wall 16. Such upward motion will be opposed by a spring 132 connecting a mounting plate 48 corresponding to the upwardly moving plate 26 to the wall I4. In effect the springs 132 as used tend to equalize weights so as to prevent cocking during such upward movement.

Upon a particular microswitch 128 being actuated in this manner the control 106 will cause reversal of the opriitibn so i as to operate the other motor 28 and the other brake: I10. in such a manner to cause rewinding of the ribbon 98 upon the core 100 where it was previously located. The ribbon 98 will pass back and forth in this manner a number of times depending upon the initial setting of the switch 104, receiving ink from the rollers and 96 each time.

In order to vary the ink applied to a roller 98 it is possible to relocate the rollers 90 in any of the extensions 82 and 86 in the slots 78 and to pass the ribbon 98 over around these rollers 96 and the rollers 90. Various configurations designed to vary the ink application are shown in FIG. 9, 10, and II of the drawing. When the machine 10 is used in the manners indicated in FIG. 4, 9, l0 and II of the drawing it should be born in mind that the amount of ink applied will be proportional to the degree or amount of contact between the ribbon 98 and the rollers 90 and 96.

We claim:

I. A ribbon-inking mechanism which comprises:

movable mounting means for mounting two winding rollers,

a winding roller rotatably held by each of said mounting means,

a ribbon to be inked extending between said winding rollers and at least partially wound on one of said winding rollers,

motor means for turning said winding rollers so that said ribbon can be wound from one of said winding rollers on to the other and vice versa;

switch means mounted adjacent to each of said mounting means for controlling the operation of said motor means so that when said ribbon is wound on one of said winding rollers, the tension on said ribbon causes movement of the mounting means for the other of said rollers, actuating said switch means so as to cause actuation of said motor means in order to no longer wind said ribbon on said one of said winding rollers and to cause said ribbon to be wound on the other of said winding rollers;

means for rotatable mounting an inking roller so that it is contacted by said ribbon as said ribbon passes between said winding rollers; I

an inking roller for applying ink located on said means for rotatably mounting an inking roller so that a ribbon passing between said winding rollers passes around said inking roller, said inking roller being capable of applying ink to said ribbon in an amount proportional to the contact with said ribbon,

said means for mounting an inking roller being constructed so that said inking roller may be located in a plurality of different positions, the amount of contact of said ribbon with said inking roller being different in said different positions.

I 2. A ribboninking mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein: I

said means for rotatable mounting an inking roller comprises slot means, said slot means having a plurality of extensions, said inking rollers being capable of being fitted within difierent of said extensions so as to be located in said different positions. 3. A ribbon-inking mechanism as claimed in claim I includmeans for mounting a second inking roller so that it is contacted by said ribbon passing between said winding rollers,

a second inking roller for applying ink located on said means for mounting said second inking roller so that said ribbon passing between said winding rollers passes around both of said inking rollers, said second inking roller being capable of applying ink to said ribbon in an amount proportional to the contact with said ribbon,

the amount of contact between said ribbon and both of said inking rollers being variable in accordance with the position of said first mentioned inking roller.

4. A ribbon-inking mechanism as claimed in claim 3 wherein:

said first-mentioned means for rotatably mounting an inking roller comprises slot means, said slot means having a plurality of extensions, said first mentioned inking roller being capable of being fitted within different of said extensions so as to be located in said different positions.

5. A ribbon-inking mechanism which comprises:

mounting means for mounting two winding rollers;

a winding roller rotatably held by each of said mounting means;

a ribbon to be inked extending between said winding rollers and at least partially wound on one of said winding rollers;

motor means for turning said winding rollers so that a ribbon can be wound from one of said winding rollers on to the other and vice versa;

control means responsive to tension on said ribbon for reversing the direction of ribbon travel between said winding unit so that when said ribbon becomes wound on one of said winding rollers, the direction of ribbon travel reverses to wind said ribbon on the other of said winding rollers;

two separate means for rotatably mounting an inking roller;

an inking roller for applying ink to said ribbon located on each of said means for rotatably mounting an inking roller so that said ribbon passes in contact with and around both of said inking rollers, said inking rollers being capable of applying ink to said ribbon in an amount proportional to the contact with said ribbon,

one of said means for mounting being constructed so that the inking roller held thereby may be located in a plurality of different positions, said positions being such that the amount of contact of said ribbon with said inking rollers is different in said different positions.

6. A ribbon-inking mechanism as claimed in claim 5 wherein:

said one of said means for rotatably mounting an inking roller comprises slot means, said slot means having a plurality of extensions, said inking roller held by said one of said means for rotatably mounting being capable of being fitted within different of said extensions so as to be located in said different positions. 

1. A ribbon-inking mechanism which comprises: movable mounting means for mounting two winding rollers, a winding roller rotatably held by each of said mounting means, a ribbon to be inked extending between said winding rollers and at least partially wound on one of said winding rollers, motor means for turning said winding rollers so that said ribbon can be wound from one of said winding rollers on to the other and vice versa; switch means mounted adjacent to each of said mounting means for controlling the operation of said motor means so that when said ribbon is wound on one of said winding rollers, the tension on said ribbon causes movement of the mounting means for the other of said rollers, actuating said switch means so as to cause actuation of said motor means in order to no longer wind said ribbon on said one of said winding rollers and to cause said ribbon to be wound on the other of said winding rollers; means for rotatable mounting an inking roller so that it is contacted by said ribbon as said ribbon passes between said winding rollers; an inking roller for applying inK located on said means for rotatably mounting an inking roller so that a ribbon passing between said winding rollers passes around said inking roller, said inking roller being capable of applying ink to said ribbon in an amount proportional to the contact with said ribbon, said means for mounting an inking roller being constructed so that said inking roller may be located in a plurality of different positions, the amount of contact of said ribbon with said inking roller being different in said different positions.
 2. A ribbon-inking mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein: said means for rotatable mounting an inking roller comprises slot means, said slot means having a plurality of extensions, said inking rollers being capable of being fitted within different of said extensions so as to be located in said different positions.
 3. A ribbon-inking mechanism as claimed in claim 1 including: means for mounting a second inking roller so that it is contacted by said ribbon passing between said winding rollers, a second inking roller for applying ink located on said means for mounting said second inking roller so that said ribbon passing between said winding rollers passes around both of said inking rollers, said second inking roller being capable of applying ink to said ribbon in an amount proportional to the contact with said ribbon, the amount of contact between said ribbon and both of said inking rollers being variable in accordance with the position of said first mentioned inking roller.
 4. A ribbon-inking mechanism as claimed in claim 3 wherein: said first-mentioned means for rotatably mounting an inking roller comprises slot means, said slot means having a plurality of extensions, said first mentioned inking roller being capable of being fitted within different of said extensions so as to be located in said different positions.
 5. A ribbon-inking mechanism which comprises: mounting means for mounting two winding rollers; a winding roller rotatably held by each of said mounting means; a ribbon to be inked extending between said winding rollers and at least partially wound on one of said winding rollers; motor means for turning said winding rollers so that a ribbon can be wound from one of said winding rollers on to the other and vice versa; control means responsive to tension on said ribbon for reversing the direction of ribbon travel between said winding unit so that when said ribbon becomes wound on one of said winding rollers, the direction of ribbon travel reverses to wind said ribbon on the other of said winding rollers; two separate means for rotatably mounting an inking roller; an inking roller for applying ink to said ribbon located on each of said means for rotatably mounting an inking roller so that said ribbon passes in contact with and around both of said inking rollers, said inking rollers being capable of applying ink to said ribbon in an amount proportional to the contact with said ribbon, one of said means for mounting being constructed so that the inking roller held thereby may be located in a plurality of different positions, said positions being such that the amount of contact of said ribbon with said inking rollers is different in said different positions.
 6. A ribbon-inking mechanism as claimed in claim 5 wherein: said one of said means for rotatably mounting an inking roller comprises slot means, said slot means having a plurality of extensions, said inking roller held by said one of said means for rotatably mounting being capable of being fitted within different of said extensions so as to be located in said different positions. 